IT-BUSINESS INNOVATION

DIAGNOSTIC

P ARTICIPANT W ORKBOOK

Table of Contents:
Survey Methodology 2
Preparing Your Organization to Participate 3
Participant Sample Selection 4
Communication Strategy 5
Diagnostic Window 6
Activity Checklist: Timeframe with Due Dates 7
Communication Templates 8
Sample Diagnostic Questions 11

This document has been prepared by the Corporate Executive Board for the exclusive use of its members. It contains valuable
proprietary information belonging to the Corporate Executive Board and each member should make it available only to those
employees and agents who require such access in order to learn from the material provided herein, and who undertake not to disclose
it to third parties. In the event that you are unwilling to assume this confidentiality obligation, please return this document and all
copies in your possession promptly to the Corporate Executive Board.
2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.
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SURVEY METHODOLOGY

The diagnostic will help you prioritize process improvement efforts and tactics to align your IT
organizations behaviors towards those that have the greatest impact in rapidly enabling and
scaling business partner-led technology innovation. The survey will identify the readiness of
your IT processes to support innovation, and the overall Climate of Innovation within your IT
group. The diagnostic will also benchmark your IT organizations readiness to support innovation
against peers.

Defining Success: A Model of Effective IT-Business Innovation

Diagnostic Benefits

- Benchmark your IT organizations overall readiness to support business partner-led

technology innovation
- Identify gaps in core IT processes that support innovation
- Identify areas of weakness and misalignment in your IT Climate of Innovation

What You Will Get

Detailed results Guidance on practical Executive Advisor walk-

benchmarked against peer improvement steps, through of results and key
organizations including tactics. recommendations.

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

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PREPARING YOUR ORGANIZATION TO PARTICIPATE

There are four steps in preparing your organization to participate.

1. Select the Diagnostic Participants

Identify the individuals that will participate in the diagnostic.

See page 4 for additional details on selection.

2. Communicate to the Participants

Develop and implement a communication strategy to ensure high levels of
participation. This document provides a sample memo for internal distribution on
page 11.

3. Launch the Diagnostic to Your Selected IT Employees

Select a launch window and manage any technical hurdles to participants.

4. Complete the IT Leader Survey

Designate a senior IT Leader (CIO, Chief of Staff or similar) with an overall view of IT
processes at your organization to complete the IT leader survey and provide
feedback on core IT processes.

NOTE: THE SURVEY IS WEB-BASED

There are several issues to consider regarding Internet access within your organization.
1. The survey is entirely Web-based
2. Employees can complete it from any computer that has Internet access:
3. Many organizations with only Intranet access
INTRODUCTION ANDfind it feasible to update their proxy
EXPLANATION
server to allow employees to access to the diagnostics Web site. From the
employees perspective, this would simply appear as a link within the organizations
Intranet site.

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

3
PARTICIPANT SAMPLE SELECTION

The IT-Business Innovation Diagnostic is divided into two surveys: one for an IT Leader to
complete to assess the readiness of your core IT processes to support innovation, and one for IT
employees to assess the overall Climate of Innovation within IT.
1) IT Employee Survey (estimated completion time: 20-25 minutes): We recommend
selecting a cross-section of your IT employees at different levels of seniority and across
different functional areas. To get detailed results on the climate within individual areas
or groups within IT, we require at least 5-10 respondents from each area.
2) IT Leader Survey (estimated completion time 60-90 minutes): We recommend that this
survey be completed by a senior IT leader with knowledge of core processes and
structures right across IT. Recommended candidates for this survey include the CIO,
Chief of Staff, or similar.

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

4
COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

A successful diagnostic deployment depends upon a large and representative group of

motivated participants who take the time to give candid, thoughtful responses. In order
to produce such a responsive group, we need to develop a coherent communication
strategy that engages peoples interest and encourages honest responses. We suggest
that you use each of the communication methods below. We provide templates for
these communications on pages 8-10:

WHAT THE PARTICIPATING O RGANIZATION DOES BEST PRACTICES

Communications StrategyOur Recommendations

Method Goal When From Whom

Informs employees that your

organization is working with CEB
to administer a diagnostic
Alerts employees to be on the
A few days before
Heads-Up lookout for the diagnostic CIO, CoS or
the diagnostic
E-mail* Answers questions that similar
launch date
employees may have about how
the diagnostic will work
Encourages employee
participation

Provides diagnostic participants

with the Web address with
Launch Day Day of diagnostic
embedded login ID CIO, CoS or
Reminder launch
Stresses confidentiality of similar
(optional)
diagnostic
Encourages participation

Contains diagnostics Web

address and individual diagnostic
login IDs
Serves as a final reminder
Several days
Reminder/ delivered to diagnostic CIO, CoS or
before diagnostic
Extension participants as one last effort to similar
window closes
prompt participation
If appropriate, can be used to
extend diagnostic additional
week

*Although we suggest using e-mail for most of these communications, intranet site postings,
broadcast voicemails, or traditional hard-copy memos may better suit your organization and
your preferences.
2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.
5
THE DIAGNOSTIC WINDOW

We will ask you to select a diagnostic time window for your organization to participate in the
diagnostic, keeping the following in mind:

This diagnostic is offered in 2013 between 28th October and 12th December
Diagnostic window for a participating organization typically lasts for 2 weeks, with an option
to extend to a third week.
29th November 2013 is the last date to register your organization and launch the diagnostic.
Typically, well open survey window toward the beginning of a week.

Additional suggestions for ensuring a smooth diagnostic launch include:

Decide on which IT employees you would like to take the IT Employee Survey
Check for any potential IT issues to determine whether you will have any difficulty e-mailing
the diagnostic invitations to a large number of employees.
Notify CEB as soon as you anticipate a delay in the diagnostic launch date, and we will be
pleased to manage accordingly.

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

6
ACTIVITY CHECKLIST: TIMEFRAME WITH DUE DATES

The table below includes the specific deliverables and due dates during the diagnostic process:

WHAT WHEN
1. Participating organization supplies
information to CEB with an internal 1 week before launch/As soon as
organizational contact for notification e- possible
mails, and launch date for the diagnostic.

2. Participating organization sends Heads-up

2-3 days before launch
e-mail to participants

3. Participating organization sends notification

Diagnostic launch date
e-mails; diagnostic opens

4. Participating organization sends Several days before diagnostic

reminder/extension e-mail window closes

5. Participating organization sends final Several days before diagnostic

reminder/extension e-mail window closes

6. Diagnostic window closes 2-3 weeks after diagnostic launch

7. CEB conducts aggregate level analysis, then Immediately after diagnostic

organization-specific analysis window closes

8. CEB sends organization a customized report

Q1 2014
including all benchmarks

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

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COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES

Heads-Up Memo (Sent by Participating Organization)

To ensure high levels of participation, it is essential that employees feel that the
diagnostic is sanctioned and endorsed by your organization. To ensure this perception,
we recommend that you distribute a heads-up email. An outline is included below for
your reference.

Heads-Up Memo (Sent by Participating Organization)

OUTLINE OF HEADS-UP MEMO

I. Organization is conducting a diagnostic

a) Purpose of diagnostic
b) Diagnostic is web-based
c) Diagnostic conducted in partnership with CEB

II. Instructions for participating

a) Notification e-mail(s) will come from CIO/CoS which includes an individualized Web
address with embedded diagnostic login ID
b) Diagnostic takes approximately 20-25 minutes to complete)
c) Name of internal organizational contact to answer questions

III. Confidentiality
a) All responses are confidential
b) Any potentially identifying links (such as e-mail addresses) will be removed
c) Results will never be disaggregated in such a way that individuals are identifiable
d) Your organization will not have access to individual data

IV. Motivating candid and thoughtful respondents

a) E-mail the memo from your IT executive (or someone else recognizable by your
employees)
b) Emphasize that employee input is extremely valuable
c) Mention that future strategies aimed at developing the project management
organization will be designed in part based on employee responses
d) Present diagnostic as an opportunity for employees to make their voices heard on
issues that are important to your organizations future

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

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COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES (CONTINUED)

SAMPLE HEADS-UP MEMO IT EMPLOYEES1

TO: Employees
FROM: <CIO/CoS>
RE: IT-Business Innovation Diagnostic
DATE: < 2 to 5 Business Days before Diagnostic Launch>

I am excited to announce the beginning of a diagnostic that our company is carrying out in
conjunction with a third-party organization, CEB. CEB has developed a diagnostic for our
company designed to help identify ways we can better support innovation in our
organization. I would like to request that you all cooperate with this research effort and
participate in the diagnostic.

The diagnostic is fully web-based. You will receive an e-mail from me in a few days inviting
you to go to the diagnostics Internet site and take part in the diagnostic at any point during
the following 2-3 weeks. The diagnostic takes 20-25 minutes to complete, but you can stop
it and restart at a later time if necessary using the link provided in the e-mail invitation.

I encourage all of you to take part in this research project. The input you can provide is
extremely valuable, and will help our organization drive business value by deconstructing
how we as an organization can best support innovation. I urge you to respond as
thoughtfully and candidly as possible, since the quality of your input will determine the
usefulness of the research.

In closing, I would like to address the issue of confidentiality. You have my assurance that
all responses to the diagnostic are confidential. Respondents will be identified by an ID code
rather than a name, and individually-identifying links (such as e-mail addresses) will be
removed. The diagnostics are compiled by an outside vendor who will aggregate your data
with those of many other participants before presenting any results to our organization.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this research endeavor, please contact:

<Internal point of contact here>2

1. Feel free to copy this memo (in whole or in part) or create one of your own as part of your
internal communications strategy.
2. We encourage all participating organizations to designate an internal staff member to help
distribute diagnostic information, coordinate senior executive participation, etc.

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

9
COMMUNICATION TEMPLATES (CONTINUED)

EMAIL TEMPLATE TO INVITE PARTICIPANTS (Sent by CIO/CoS)

STANDARD DIAGNOSTIC INVITATION TEXT

TO: <<e-mail>>
FROM:
SUBJECT: <<ORGANIZATION>>: Opportunity to Improve ITs Business Value Delivery
DATE: <Day of Diagnostic Launch>

<<ORGANIZATION>> employee,

I am excited to announce the beginning of a new initiative that our company is carrying out in
conjunction with a third-party organization, CEB. CEB has developed a survey, the IT-Business
Innovation Diagnostic, to help identify ways IT can improve how it supports business partner-led
technology innovation. I would appreciate your participation in the survey.

Please complete the diagnostic by <<Due Date>>. It will take approximately 20-25 minutes to
complete.

The website URL is: <<URL>>

Your responses will be saved as you work; you can stop and restart the diagnostic without re-
entering your previous answers using the link provided.

NATURE OF THE DIAGNOSTIC:

This diagnostic is designed to help your organization identify how the IT organization can rapidly
enable and scale business partner-led innovation. As an independent organization, CEB is working
with <<Organization>> to conduct the diagnostic.

Please be assured of the following:

** Your responses to this diagnostic are confidential. CEB will destroy any link to your responses
before sharing any results with your organization. Your answers will be pooled with those of other
employees at <<Organization>> for analysis. Neither CEB nor <<Organization>> has any interest in
learning individual results. Thus, you can be assured, you and your answers will remain completely
anonymous.

** Your input is important and valued. Although we recognize that you are very busy, we urge you
to participate and respond truthfully so that your views may be truly represented. The quality of
your organizations results will only be as good as the information you provide.

<<Organization>> fully supports this research initiative and encourages you to participate. You
may contact <<Contact>> if you have any questions about this initiative. If you have any technical
questions or problems regarding the diagnostic, please send an e-mail to
ITPracticeDiagnostics@executiveboard.com.

Sincerely,
<<Your name>>

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

10
SAMPLE DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS

The next few pages include a snapshot of each diagnostic survey; these are excerpts of the IT
Employee surveys. PLEASE NOTE: If you would like to see the entire diagnostic, please email
CEB at ITPracticeDiagnostics@executiveboard.com.

IT EMPLOYEE SURVEY

Company, IT Organization and Work Group Environment

Please indicate the extent to which you disagree or agree with the following statements
1. I feel that I would be penalized for suggesting a promising idea that doesnt work out
2. If an idea seems promising, my leadership expects employees to start work even if the end
state isnt yet clear
3. My leadership expects employees to understand the levels of risk the company will accept
to attain business outcomes
4. My leadership expects employees to show resourcefulness to find answers when they face
uncertainty
5. My leadership acknowledges failure, not just success
6. Failure is seen as a learning opportunity for individuals and the company

Please indicate the extent to which you disagree or agree with the following statements

My leadership expects me to share good ideas and best practices

with my work group
with the wider IT team
outside of IT

Even though it may not be part of my formal job responsibilities, my leadership expects me to provide
assistance to colleagues
with my work group
with the wider IT team
outside of IT

To improve the outcomes of my work, my leadership expects me to contact colleagues

with my work group
with the wider IT team
outside of IT

Please indicate the extent to which you disagree or agree (using a 7 point agreement scale) with the following
statements.

My leadership expects me to know how my company achieves its business outcomes

My leadership expects me to know the threats and opportunities the company faces
When helping to develop innovative ideas, my leadership expects me to look for practical
rather than perfect solutions
Decisions in my work group are made on the basis of whats best for the company regardless of
the impact on teams or individuals
When decisions are made in my work group we weigh the risks against the business benefits

I rely on standard templates and tools for project management deliverables

I have autonomy to adjust project scope

2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. All Rights Reserved.

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